HEALTHY AND SMOOTH SKIN- A CONSUMABLE GUIDE

Have you ever wondered why smooth and unblemished skin is a thing reserved only for celebrities and internet-figures? In other words : people with more money. That is because healthy skin is not something you are born with but strive to perfect it while you compete with adolescence and external factors as you grow. Money is just a catalyst. A very effective one. Combined with exorbitant skin-protection, enhancement creams and surgeries too expensive to pronounce, you probably have the shorter end of the stick. But here’s the recipe for clear  skin that extends far beyond a healthy exterior to benefit your entire body while cosmetic products can only do so little. 

In short, you are what you consume and the healthier you eat the more your body will thank you in the form of a fit mind and body. Carbohydrates (sugar)  and unhealthy fats age skin faster than your birthdays do. 

Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, encourage thick and supple skin. Omega-3 deficiencies themselves can impact your skin negatively by making them dry and prone to the sun. Salmon, mackerel, and herring are good examples of fish with high amounts of Omega-3. They aid in fighting the negative effects of UV rays from the sun. 

Walnuts, an old friend of this blog, makes fatty acids. These are unavailable in the body naturally. Proclaiming itself as the king of all nuts, it contains more omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than any other nut. These prevent skin inflammations. 

Zinc also helps fight inflammation and bacteria cluttering your skin. Since they are known to help heal wounds, they reduce acne scarring significantly compared to someone who doesn’t have zinc in their diet. Foods rich in zinc include : walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews, lentils, fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, nuts and fatty fish. It is recommended that 40mg of zinc is to be consumed every day to treat acne. 

Carotenoids play the role of a natural sunblock and as fate may have it, sweet potatoes contain beta carotene. This prevents dry and wrinkly skin and sunburns. Paying tribute to its name, large amounts of beta carotene gives your skin a warm orange tone. Other items containing carotenoids include oranges, carrots and spinaches. 

Aside from edibles, washing you face with warm water and soap routinely before sleeping removes the accumulated dirt and oil from the day to promote clean and clear skin.

Other than consumable remedies, washing your face daily before bed is a great way to cleanse your skin from oils and dirt to encourage clear skin. Best results are with lukewarm water and soap

THE SALTY TRUTH ABOUT SODIUM

Sodium is a double edged sword. Too much of it can create fluid retention and high blood pressure and too little can disrupt nerves and the body’s meticulous fluid balance. Cardiologists heavily recommend a low sodium diet to compromised patients due to its sensitive relationship with stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. 

Cardiologists and health specialists highly suggest keeping your daily salt level to 2300 mg of sodium a day (equivalent to a teaspoon of salt).

Salt has become an omnipresent entity throughout culinary history. It's difficult to remove such an influential ingredient from our lifestyle due to its influential hold on the food market. However, taste is a repairable sense formed from habit. Decreasing sodium content from your daily life allows you to unlearn your tolerance for high salt levels. 

Involving more fresh fruits, vegetables and meat into your diet repairs your need for excess sodium. Preservatives contain a lot of sodium so any item that stays 'fresh' in the fridge for longer than a few days should be consumed minimally. The DASH diet is highly accredited among cardiologists. It's a systematic diet regimen that cuts off excess sodium, cholesterol and fats to decrease blood pressure. Check out our past articles for more detail!

There are plenty of substitutes for salt that work even better with certain types of food. Herbs, spices, lemon zest, lime and vinegar are tastier options than plain old boring salt. Since sodium is such an influential element in modern diets, It takes 6-8 weeks to fine-tune your taste. A slow withdrawal from the eleventh element of the periodic table is harsh at first but ultimately beneficial in the long run. Keep going! 

HOW YOU CAN CUT DOWN YOUR SUGAR LEVELS (AND STILL STAY HAPPY)

You’ve most probably grown up your whole life being warned about sugar
as if it were a dangerous group of criminals then wonder why it’s in
your house resting between expensive pots and cutlery. It’s bad! It's
unhealthy! Don’t eat that! Everyone chimes like a broken record while
they continue to eat their ice creams, waving their spoons pointedly.

They aren’t wrong but you aren’t either. Sugar is addicting because
we’ve assimilated it into our diet and lifestyle. We’ve dug up a warm
home for it under our heart and spoonfed it into our system like it is
second-nature. Everything you eat contains a certain percentage of
sugar. You can’t call it a thief and still never call the police. You
can only dig it out, spoonful by spoonful like how you brought it in
and replace it slowly but periodically.

A timetable is good for starters. A schedule to lay out your average
meal-plan until you get used to it you don’t crave sugar like water to
dehydration. It should be known that craving something isn’t similar
to hunger. It’s just your body wanting something to release dopamine.
So, instead of giving into the taste, try occupying your mind and body
with filling but healthy edibles that keep you and your body content
for a while like eggs, fish, meat, and nuts. Water and green teas are
great liquids to keep you full while typically being complimented with
healthy meals. Anything could keep you fit and full as long as it
protein-rich.

Research has also concluded that hot showers rid you off unwanted
cravings. Adequate sleep at night has proven to reduce intake of
calories. Throughout the three important meals of the day, try making
them last as long as possible with protein-rich food and balanced
meals in their right proportions to avoid snacking in between the
hours to the next meal of the day. This significantly cuts down weight
and calorie consumption since we usually use these gaps to make us
feel full with sugars when we’re hungry (and that’s because you’re not
having a balanced diet!).

Don’t try to completely switch up your diet and try to eat as
healthily as humanly possible while severely cutting down on your
sugar levels all at once. No doubt you’ll revert back to your previous
habits since sugar is a powerful addiction. Take it slowly while
changing small habits at a time like stopping yourself from eating
between the three important meals of the day. Make a list of items
that have a low level of sugar and replace your ordinary meals with
them.

Turns out sugar isn’t the only thing keeping you happy because cutting
it would mean a healthy life, body and mind. What feels better than
that? Be your own source of happiness and life can look far brighter
down the road. You deserve so much more. Proceed slowly but steadily
and have fun as you rework your body to it’s ideal state!

BANANAS

Bananas, although small and are consumed in seconds, have effects that protect you for years if they are routinely eaten-even dethroning apples in the race for health. They are large sources of potassium and vitamin B6 which helps in almost every bodily function. Potassium lowers blood pressure and presents a  27% lower risk of cardiovascular disease to those who habitually intake it.  

Suppose you’ve eaten a meal saturated with trans fats which increases your LDL cholesterol levels. Eating bananas can lower its quantity in your body because they contain phytosterols. Bananas keep in check your blood sugar levels and can reduce appetite by slowing the process by which your stomach unloads the food you’ve eaten. They also contain pectin which keeps you feeling full. If you still aren’t convinced that bananas are your go-to food during exercises and diets, bananas have 12 mg of choline, a B vitamin that affects the genes that cause fat storage in the abdomen. To ensure their friendship with fat-loss, eating bananas can assuage post exercise muscle cramps. 

Pectin, the same  protein that keeps your appetite under control, prevents the growth of leukemia cells. In 2004, scientists conducted research which confirmed that children who consumed products directly related to bananas and oranges had a smaller chance of developing leukemia compared to the average child. 

And if the fact that its importance in health is inversely proportional to its cost didn’t already make you smile, bananas contain vitamin B6 and an amino acid named tryptophan that helps in amplifying the roduction of a hormone called serotonin which keeps you happy and content naturally.

HEALTHY AND SMOOTH SKIN- A CONSUMABLE GUIDE

Have you ever wondered why smooth and unblemished skin is a thing reserved only for celebrities and internet-figures? In other words : people with more money. That is because healthy skin is not something you are born with but strive to perfect it while you compete with adolescence and external factors as you grow. Money is just a catalyst. A very effective one. Combined with exorbitant skin-protection, enhancement creams and surgeries too expensive to pronounce, you probably have the shorter end of the stick. But here’s the recipe for clear skin that extends far beyond a healthy exterior to benefit your entire body while cosmetic products can only do so little. 

In short, you are what you consume and the healthier you eat the more your body will thank you in the form of a fit mind and body. Carbohydrates (sugar)  and unhealthy fats age skin faster than your birthdays do. 

Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, encourage thick and supple skin. Omega-3 deficiencies themselves can impact your skin negatively by making them dry and prone to the sun. Salmon, mackerel, and herring are good examples of fish with high amounts of Omega-3. They aid in fighting the negative effects of UV rays from the sun. 

Walnuts, an old friend of this blog, makes fatty acids. These are unavailable in the body naturally. Proclaiming itself as the king of all nuts, it contains more omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than any other nut. These prevent skin inflammations. 

Zinc also helps fight inflammation and bacteria cluttering your skin. Since they are known to help heal wounds, they reduce acne scarring significantly compared to someone who doesn’t have zinc in their diet. Foods rich in zinc include : walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews, lentils, fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, nuts and fatty fish. It is recommended that 40mg of zinc is to be consumed every day to treat acne. 

Carotenoids play the role of a natural sunblock and as fate may have it, sweet potatoes contain beta carotene. This prevents dry and wrinkly skin and sunburns. Paying tribute to its name, large amounts of beta carotene gives your skin a warm orange tone. Other items containing carotenoids include oranges, carrots and spinaches. 

WHY YOU NEVER LOSE WEIGHT

The weighing machine is your enemy turned lover. You learn to
infatuate yourself with the scale and addictively watch as digital
numbers flutter through as if it were a thriller. You learn to love
yourself enough to hate every inch of unhealthiness. You learn to
enjoy the flesh-searing brunt of exercise but you never learn the
sweet relief of chipped fat.

Losing weight is a straightforward reaction, you think. Put in effort,
put in the right exercises and passion and it feels like you’ve cut
off your bulges with scissors. Except nothing changes in your body but
the sore ache of muscles. And no, this is not another reminder that a
proper low-carb diet should be synonymous to fat-burning exercises.
It’s more of what comes with it.

Water is a necessity most forget about unless you’re parched or
survive long enough without it to want some. Drinking water
consistently throughout the day, especially right before meals, helps
significantly increase the amount of calories burned. Especially since
you won’t snack irresponsibly if you’re moderately full with water. A
tip that tricks your brain into thinking you’ve had enough food is to
use smaller plates than usual.

Cut down on drinking habits to cut down on your weight. Beverages like
alcohol, beer and wine contain large amounts of calories and it would
be better to lower their influence on you irrespective of weight.
Food, no matter what kind, is always filling. Sometimes we don’t
recognise the feeling enough to stop because of the distractions
around us attracting our attention but chewing slowly, methodically
and attentively—registering every flavour and texture—allows us to
acknowledge when we feel full enough to stop eating much accurately.

Protein, especially, plays an important role in losing weight if you
let it. Protein-rich foods can limit your carbohydrate cravings by
increasing metabolism. It also prevents you from regaining weight.
Eating a protein enriched breakfast is scientifically proven to reduce
sugar cravings and keeps you mostly feeling full to help you power
through the day.

BENEFITS OF WALNUT

The king of proteins amongst nuts, walnuts are a tough competitor to

crack in the race to fitness between its fellow nut competitors.

Blessed with mono and polyunsaturated fats, fibre, and omega-3 fatty

acids, they avert the stereotype that consider them unhealthy because

of their high-calorie quality due to their largely beneficent traits

that tip the scale to their favour enormously.

In fact, a research published in the British Journal Of Nutrition

confirmed that eating nuts four times per week or more decreased the

chances of coronary heart disease—the most common heart disease—by 37

per cent compared to an individual who doesn’t! Especially because of

huge quantities of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids

which decrease LDL cholesterol and triglyceride percentages.

Aside from being a single, large store of proteins, they provide large

amounts of nutrients-especially beneficial for heart patients! To be

more specific, walnut kernels consist of 14.8 g protein, 15.8 g

carbohydrates, 64g fat, 2.1 g fibre, 1.9 g ash, 99 mg calcium, 380 mg

phosphorus, 450 mg potassium per 100 g.

With a formidable proportion of proteins, fibres and fats packed in a

tiny brain-like structure, walnuts are great additions to diets as

proven by their immense healthiness and fullness achieved when eaten.

This prevents unneeded snackings and cravings by instead substituting

it with a healthier, more energy-packed, item.